Thursday, July 16, 2015

Quarter-Finals - France and England - World Cup Eating Challenge 2015

On the same note from yesterday, since I was having a hard time, I needed to find easier options for the challenge so that it didn't feel like one more burden. I was lucky to be able to find some good options that helped me make some delicious dinners that didn't add to my stress. 

France


The first time I went to France, I knew much less about food and was looking through a travel book when I found steak frites. Steak frites are exactly how they sound... steak and fries. I was determined to have this dish in France and I did. It was all I hoped and dreamed it would be and I knew it would be a good pick for my challenge.



There is one secret to perfect steaks. It's butter. 



Once the butter is heated up, put your steaks in and then just listen to the beautiful noise of them sizzling to perfection. I normally season the steaks but I wanted the meat to shine so I only added sea salt this time.



While my steaks were cooking I baked my fries. I added salt and garlic and paprika to them as well. 
When the steak was done, I added them to the plate with the fries and topped it with some garlic and herb butter. Butter really was the VIP here.



I also bought a Cotes du Rhone wine. Rhone is my favorite wine region and I wanted to get a true French Rhone for the challenge.



The wine had a beautiful color and was the perfect balance to this rich meal.



 Fin


England


For England, I wanted to go with another easy classic. I decided to go with bangers and mash.


Bangers are just a wacky English word for sausage. Despite the impression the name might give, the term actually came from the pockets of oil that build up under the sausage casing and tend to pop while cooking. If you've ever been near a sausage when it's does this, you know they're no joke.


The mash is, as you'd expect, mashed potatoes.


There really wasn't too much complicated here. I just made my mashed potatoes with some almond milk, butter, and salt. I then served it with the bangers and let the sausage impart some natural flavor.


On an unrelated note, that night started a serious of ridiculously beautiful sunsets so I thought I would just share this one with you. 

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